Topic: diseases

[Mrs Ava]

I seem to have a host of diseases on my plot, which is pretty depressing!  My question is, do you have any tried and tested cures, or at least slower downers for onion white rot, potato and tomato blight and club root?  I don't seem to have suffered from the club root, but there are 2 plots I know which have it so I fear it is only a matter of time!

[Jesse]

EJ I have not tried this myself but have read about it. For club root grow cabbages in pots until they are fairly large and have a good healthy root ball, then plant them on digging a fairly large hole and filling with potting soil. Club root will still attack but the roots that have developed whilst growing in pots should be sufficient to get them through to cropping stage.

[tim]

White rot - no!

Blight - spray weekly with bordeaux. And hope! = Tim

[Palustris]

Another anti club root thing is to put an inch length piece of rhubarb stem in the planting hole, people on here say it works.

[Wicker]

We do simialr to Jesseve says but modules not  pots so maybe not so big when they go in the ground.  On planting I mix about quarter/half teaspoon of lime in with some potting compost and put in the bottom of the hole.  Roots can still be a bit swollen but plants seem to develop o.k. as a rule.

[Mrs Ava]

I remember reading about the rhubarb, and will definately do that if clubroot becomes an issue.

And there is nothing I can do about the darn white rot!  PAH!!  Are there any onions that are more resistant?

And the bordeaux mixture, any garden centre or do I get it from specialist places, and how does it work, and when do I spray, from the minute there is foliage present until harvest?  

Sorry for so many questions, but I have never ever used these sorts of products before so am a little uneducated. But I am not about to waste my time, effort and Ava's money in planting things and then watching them whither and die if there is something I can do to help them survive!

Thanks for your advice - clever lot!  ;D

[derbex]

EJ you should be able to get Bordeaux mixture readily -I got mine at the Garden Centre near the mum-in-law. You have to use it regularly -every week/fortnight it must be on the leaves before the blight spores get to them -hmmmm sounds  like the antifouling I put on my boat to kill off the wildlife -not nice stuff, and I haven't used it so far.

You could also try growing more resistent varieties, Cara & Wilja? anyone.

Blight is marching across our allotment site -I need a hot dry spell, but quick!

Jeremy

[sandersj89]

Blight is a fungal disease and there are no systemic sprays you can use at home.

Keep an eye on this website, it is free but you have to register, this will give an idea if blight is on the move.

http://www.potatocrop.com/blight/

You can spray with Bordeaux or Dithane. Both are powders that you dilute with water in a sprayer. You then needs to librally coat the folliage of the spuds with the stuff. Make sure you not only spray the tops but also stick the spray nozzle through the canopy to get as much of the plant covered as possible.

Both sprays need to be applied prior to the spores touching the plants, I use the above website as a guide to when to start spraying. However once it rains you must spray again straight away. If it does not rain then wait 2 weeks and apply again.

Bordeaux will make your leaves look white washed, Dithane does not leave behind such a dense white residue but you can still see it on the leaves.

This site may also be of interest for general pesticide use:

http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/safe_use.asp?id=40    

Hope that helps

Jerry

[tim]

White rot? No better ones, to my knowledge.

Blight? There are 7 or 8 'resistant' pots.
Bordeaux comes in 175g packs & we use 130g each spray. So get plenty. And read the label! It is still rated 'for organic growers'.
The 'warning system' is used professionally, but wouldn't have saved us this year - blight came in early June, in a longstanding drought. = Tim

[john_miller]

Having used baking soda on powdery mildew, successfully, for years I was enlightened recently about how it probably works. Fungi prefer an acid pH to germinate and grow. Baking soda is alkaline so that by spraying the leaf surface the pH is raised to a point that the fungus is eradicated. As soon as I find some blight I am going to test baking soda on this disease. A note in 'The Garden' this month noted that baking soda is now approved as a fungicide on all plants, indoor and outdoor, in the U.K..

[Sarah-b]

And how do you use the baking soda? Just add a bit to some water in a spray?

Sarah.

[tim]

Thanks, John - as soon as the sun goes down, I shall be out there. Big coincidence - I just did the photo this am to have a good moan about mildew!! = Tim

Later - just made up some spray - 2tsp in a litre of pH6.5 tap water gives me pH8.5. That looks about right to me.  Don't forget a couple of drops of detergent.

[growmore]

EJ clubroot isnt an air born disease but avoid going anywhere near the plots you know that have it even if they are offering free bottles of wine  :D..
And accept no plants or anything off them grow your own from seed..
Seriously it only needs a spec of soil off an infected plot and you got it. it can carry on plants,  boots, tools etc..
If You see them coming on your plot bolt the gate quickly..lol
cheers <<Jim

[ALAN HOWELL]

EJ I have not tried this myself but have read about it. For club root grow cabbages in pots until they are fairly large and have a good healthy root ball, then plant them on digging a fairly large hole and filling with potting soil. Club root will still attack but the roots that have developed whilst growing in pots should be sufficient to get them through to cropping stage.

We have had c/root on our lottie from the start (4yrs) and this is the method we use too,with a good degree of success....Alan

[Mrs Ava]

Ooo, just remembered something I was told when leaving the plot on Sunday by the chap who normally never ever speaks to me, mind you, Ava was with me so I think he was talking more to him than me.... he moaned about the onions and the rot, but informed me that he didn't weed the onion bed this year (don't I know it) and he had no problems with the rot.  He has decided that the rot sets in once the soil around the onions has been disturbed in weeding.  What do you reakon, any truth to it?

[rdak]

I have that powdery mildew on some of my trailing squashes, but I haven't got around to doing anything about it. It is only on the lower leaves (I have the squashes climbing up a trellis). Fruit is forming and the rest of the plant seems healthy, so is powdery mildew OK to live with or can it turn serious?

[Doris_Pinks]

Ross, it doesn't harm the fruits, but often attacks stressed squash! (you need to play some chill out music to em! 8) ) Have they been getting enough water? (they do need LOTS!) If you can water in the am to try and avoid night humidity which can encourage mildew, it is better.
If it happens I just remove the mankey leaves and the plant carries on! DP

[john_miller]

After finally getting a reduction in the amount of rain we have been getting almost every day I noticed the first signs of blight on some tomato plants yesterday. Last night I went out and sprayed some with baking soda. When I woke up this morning it was raining again! Doh. Tonight I noticed some white residue still on the leaves so it didn't all get washed off. What I did notice, presumably from a combination of the rain and the dishwashing liquid I added as a spreader, was that the leaves were a lot cleaner! At least something was achieved, I suppose.
Just when I as starting to hope that summer would be rescued by a beautiful August our forecast for the next few days includes yet more rain, flood watches and highs tomorrow below 20C (10C less than normal) and only marginally higher over the weekend. Again, this may be the U.K.'s lot by next weekend.

[tim]

John - so you're using it for blight as well as mildew? Sounds great?

Emma - pinch of salt, there, I reckon! = Tim

[growmore]

Here i go again with the chemicals . ;)
Bio produce "Liquid Club Root Control" available at most garden centres ..
It is a systemic protection for Brassicas..
4 x 10ml sachets in a box.
you mix 1 satchet with a litre of water and dip roots in prior to planting out ,then use what is left to water the plants in.
I know I am going to get asked what it contains..41.7% Thiophanate-Methyl..
the guys who use it on out lotties say it works well..
 Rhubarb works if you haven't got club root..
But if You do it don't..
Calomel dust mixed into a paste seemed to help but I dont think this is available anymore.  Jim..